BrainHealth Lecture Series Draws Field’s Top Minds

Topics Include Training the Brain, Cognition in Children and Attaining Happiness

Jan. 13, 2011

The Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas has announced the 2011 lineup of its popular annual lecture series. The lectures give the public an opportunity to learn more about the brain, how to use it more effectively, how a child’s brain develops, how to predict human behavior and how happiness influences the brain.

The annual series, sponsored by The Container Store, is designed to translate the latest brain research and treatments into topical lectures for the lay community.

The Brain: An Owner’s Guide is a four-part series that will be offered at 7 p.m. every Tuesday in February. It features prominent research scientists from across the country discussing the latest groundbreaking research developments.

“Each year we strive to bring new researchers to our lecture series to share the pioneering breakthroughs in the scientific community,” said Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth. “The more knowledge we can share about the brain, the more we can positively affect what we have discovered to be the most modifiable organ in the body.”

The topics for this year’s lectures are:

Feb. 1 – “Brain Plasticity and Frontal Lobes: Using Your Brain More Effectively” by Dr. Donald Stuss. Fear of memory decline going hand-and-hand with normal aging grips a population growing older day by day. But recent discoveries about brain plasticity – the brain’s ability to modify itself – can diminish the dread. Dr. Stuss will share more about the flexible brain, including its neuronal compensation abilities, the importance of the frontal lobes on brain training and how environmental factors impact the brain’s remarkable plasticity. The Emy Lou and Jerry Baldridge Lecture.

Feb. 8 – “Why Does a Child’s Brain Develop As It Does?” by Dr. Helen Neville. An array of research is under way examining a variety of influences on cognition in children of all ages. Some of it concentrates on the impact of experience on brain development; other studies investigate the role genes play in the optimal maturing of cognitive abilities. Dr. Neville will explain how such research expands understanding of brain function development and its implications for future directions in education. The Horchow Family Lecture.

Feb. 15 – “NeuroFuture: Using Neuroimaging to Predict Human Behavior” by Dr. John Gabrieli. Modern neuroimaging techniques measure functional and structural properties of the brain that actually predict future behavior. Such measurements can help identify when the brain is ready to perform and learn, and, for clinical purposes, predict when children will make the most progress in overcoming neurodevelopmental disorders or forecast which patients will best respond to specific therapies. Dr. Gabrieli will explain how today’s neuroimaging predicts the future. The RGK Foundation Lecture.

Feb. 22 – “Happiness: Four Things Your Mother Didn’t Tell You” by Dr. Daniel Gilbert. Most of us think we know what would make us happy. But research in psychology, economics and neuroscience shows that people are not very good at predicting what will make them happy, how happy it will make them or how long that happiness will last. Dr. Gilbert will share why, when it comes to finding happiness, we cannot always trust our imaginations – or our mothers. The Sally and Forrest Hoglund Lecture.

“The lecture series, designed to translate the latest brain research and treatment into a cutting-edge series of topical lectures for the lay community, provides a rare opportunity to hear about groundbreaking research directly from scientists conducting it,” said Melissa Reiff, president of The Container Store.

“We are always looking for innovative opportunities to become ingrained in causes and community endeavors that help allow our customers to live their best, most productive and organized life. The lecture series fits that description perfectly,” she added.

All lectures are at the Center for BrainHealth, 2200 W. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. The price is $35 for a ticket to one lecture bought online, $45 for a one-lecture ticket at the door and $130 for a pass to all four lectures. For more information or to register, visit www.centerforbrainhealth.org.